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Sweet Auburn

African-American history in AtlantaAfrican-American upper classBungalow architecture in Georgia (U.S. state)Festivals in AtlantaHistoric districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state)
NRHP infobox with nocatNational Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state)National Register of Historic Places in AtlantaOld Fourth WardStreets of African American historySweet Auburn
Sweet Auburn District, Atlanta, Georgia
Sweet Auburn District, Atlanta, Georgia

The Sweet Auburn Historic District is a historic African-American neighborhood along and surrounding Auburn Avenue, east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The name Sweet Auburn was coined by John Wesley Dobbs, referring to the "richest Negro street in the world," one of the largest concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States. A National Historic Landmark District was designated in 1976, covering 19 acres (7.7 ha) of the neighborhood, significant for its history and development as a segregated area under the state's Jim Crow laws.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Sweet Auburn (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Sweet Auburn
Edgewood Avenue Northeast, Atlanta Old Fourth Ward

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Wikipedia: Sweet AuburnContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 33.75483 ° E -84.38131 °
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Address

200 Edgewood

Edgewood Avenue Northeast
30303 Atlanta, Old Fourth Ward
Georgia, United States
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Sweet Auburn District, Atlanta, Georgia
Sweet Auburn District, Atlanta, Georgia
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Nearby Places

Odd Fellows Building and Auditorium
Odd Fellows Building and Auditorium

The Odd Fellows Building and Auditorium, located at 228—250 Auburn Avenue, N.E. in the Sweet Auburn Historic District of Atlanta, Georgia, are historic buildings built in 1912 and 1913, respectively, as the headquarters of the District Grand Lodge No. 18, Jurisdiction of Georgia, of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America. B.S. Ingram was District Grand Master and Dr. William F. Penn was chairman of the building committee. Renowned Atlanta-based architect William Augustus Edwards designed the buildings, while Robert E. Pharrow was the contractor and M.B. Morton was superintendent of construction. Booker T. Washington dedicated the Odd Fellows Building in 1912.The Odd Fellows Building and Auditorium are closely linked with Benjamin Jefferson Davis, Sr. (1870–1945), Atlanta's most influential black journalist, who edited the Atlanta Independent, the official organ of District No. 18. He was District Grand Secretary and a member of the Building Committee when they were built.The Odd Fellows Building, called the Tower, is six stories high while the Auditorium next door, called the Annex, is two stories with an atrium that adds another two or three stories in height. Both are built of redbrick except for the first floor of the Tower which is stone. The Annex was used for many years as a movie house and was the only major venue in Atlanta where blacks could be seated on the main floor. In addition to providing meeting and office space for the Odd Fellows, the Tower provided office and store space for black-owned businesses and black professionals. Its flat roof was used for dances for many years.On May 2, 1975, both buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Municipal Auditorium (Atlanta)
Municipal Auditorium (Atlanta)

Atlanta Municipal Auditorium, originally known as the Auditorium and Armory, was an auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It was constructed with funds raised by a committee of Atlanta citizens and then sold to the city of Atlanta. The structure was dedicated in a pre-inaugural visit from President William Howard Taft in 1909 during which he was served a possum dinner, and the dining hall in which this event took place was named in his honor. The public dedication of the Auditorium took place with the hosting of the inaugural Atlanta Music Festival in May 1909. The Auditorium and Armory also housed the 179th Field Artillery, who stored munitions there as well as using the space for drills. Over the years various concerts, theater productions, operas, balls, and professional wrestling matches were hosted at the auditorium, as were the 1922 to 1932 Southern Conference men's basketball tournaments. One additional event of note was the Gone with the Wind Ball, held in conjunction with the 1939 premiere of the film. The building originally had a red brick facade. After a 1940 fire the original architect, John Robert Dillon, redesigned the exterior and it was rebuilt with a marble facade. Until Woodruff Arts Center opened, the Municipal Auditorium was the home of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Prior to the GSU sale the building housed an Austin concert pipe organ, typical of such turn of the century municipal halls (Chattanooga's Soldiers and Sailor's Auditorium still has theirs). It was (poorly) located in the ceiling space above the stage. By around 1970 it was used only two weeks in the Spring when most of the Atlanta High Schools held their graduation ceremonies there. Exactly one piece was played, Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance". Elton John had a performance there during this time, wearing a red hotpants jumpsuit. On October 26, 1970, the auditorium hosted the first Muhammad Ali fight in over three years, against Jerry Quarry. Ali had been banned from boxing in over 50 locations due to his refusal to participate in the Vietnam War draft. Atlanta was the first city to offer him a venue to box, effectively breaking the ban. The building was sold in 1979 to Georgia State University which now uses the structure as their Alumni Hall. On September 17, 2010, Georgia State University renamed their Alumni Hall Dahlberg Hall, after alumnus A. W. "Bill" Dahlberg. Atlanta Municipal Auditorium is located at Gilmer and Courtland Streets in downtown Atlanta.